Messenger Working Title
by onyx-worrystone
Summary: After Trigon is destroyed, Raven reappears, purified. Soon after, a girl shows up. She looks much like Raven and has a demonic temper. Is this the incarnation of Raven's evil side? FYI: summary applies to later chapters.T 4 death scene & minor swearing
1. Default Chapter: Prologue

**_Disclaimer_**: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters. I am trying to make this a fic based on the _comic book_ Titans. This is supposed to take place partly in the future and partly in the past, a little after the battle where Trigon was destroyed.

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**The painted angel's blue eyes, dulled by the darkness, gazed out over the dim room. The violet walls glimmered with intricate designs wrought in silver paint that halted only to give the angel room. Woven also into the pattern were various runes and magical symbols. The plush, heavy curtains at the windows were a dusty wine color, flanked on both sides by bookcases overflowing with think, thin, and medium volumes alike.

Beneath the window was a small alter, on which a few candles sat, the one in front definitely used the most, judging by the amount of wax drops that had dribbled down the once-tall cylinder. An old black armchair stood in the corner, a small table beside it, upon which was a lamp and an open book. A dresser made of ebony was against the room's west wall. On the top lay a mess of items: a small, silver, hand-held computer detailed in (what else) violet, papers scrawled with strange symbols, an open box of chalk, a few semi-precious crystals and stones, and a few marbles. A cluttered writing desk made of the same wood as the dresser sat across from the bed.

It was a double bed, draped in a lavender coverlet in keeping with the room's shadowy theme. Even the pillowcases were a dark form of purple. The only thing in the room not some shade of violet or black was the battered, faded green teddy bear that graced the top of the pillows. Its fur was matted and short, and its nose was worn smooth from years of rubbing. The aged plaything had evidently been well loved.

A sliver of light appeared on the angel's face as the door opened to admit the room's owner, then disappear as she closed it. There was a brief silence, then a muffled thump as the individual flopped down on the bed. A moment later, someone mumbled "igniculus" and the foremost candle on the alter lit, casting flickering light about the room.

By this small but apparently sufficient flame, the owner of the room could be seen. She lay on her back upon the bed, her shoulder-length, wavy black hair fanned out behind her. She was young, her face unlined and unwrinkled. Her cheekbones were high and so was her forehead. Her ears, though mostly hidden by her hair, had a faint but still noticeable point. She was slender and delicate-looking. Her eyes were closed and there was a frown on her face as she slowly inhaled and exhaled in rhythm.

At last, when the frown upon the teenager's face diminished a little, she opened her amethyst-colored eyes and levered herself off the bed. The mural of the angel with dark hair much like her own and open arms above the teenager's bed held her gaze for a moment, making her angry eyes soften a bit. The girl then slowly walked over to her alter and sat down in front of it. She arranged herself into the lotus position with her hands palm up on her knees and closed her eyes. She again began to breathe in rhythm, her cross expression soon becoming serene. Karis Arella Logan sunk deeply into meditation, and did not emerge from her bedroom until it was well past sunset.

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I would really appreciate some constructive criticism. Ineed help when it comes to the voice of the original comic bookTitans. I have trouble making what I write sound like something they would say. If you have any advice, I would be happy to hear it.I know, I know, I got into a _lot_ of detail, but I wanted you to be able to visualize the room. If it makes the story seem tedious to you, feel free to tell me. I accept do accept flames. Peace and Oreos, Onyx.


	2. Chapter One: The Day After

**_Disclaimer_**: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters.

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Even with the heaviest curtains I can find, she thought as she opened her eyes and was promptly blinded, the sun still gets through! Karis A. Logan, called Kali by her friends, shut her eyes with a groan and turned over onto her side, drawing the blankets around herself. Her thoughts turned from curtains to the events of the previous day. A grimace came to her face as she recalled Helldawn's crack about her being a witch. Kali had instantly flown off the handle at the younger girl and stormed home. The teen sighed. The blunt truth was, Karis _was_ a witch. She only preferred to use less condemning terms, such as wiccan, mage, and/or alchemist. Kali just didn't like being called a witch. It sounded too…**_evil_**. And evil was the last thing she wanted to be known as.

As the granddaughter of a half-demon, Kali was one-eighth demon herself, and had a spitfire temper that often got her in trouble. Actually, now more than ever. A villain named Geno-Maxx (A/N: cheesy name, I know. He's supposed to be cheesy. :P) had messed around with her DNA, bringing the demon part of her to the surface. She shuddered. That experience was not one she wanted to remember. The pain had been horrible. Maxx had forced her to change as far into demon form as possible, and made her attack her team. Her own team!

Delusion and Cronos had had to call in Vanth, Haven's master mage and supervisor. The woman had managed to cast a spell to take Kali from under Maxx's control and later returned her to human form. The transformation had, however, not been without repercussions. The injuries from Delusion and Cronos still remained, but no matter how many times they said they were sorry and no matter that she knew it had been in self-defense, it still hurt that they would attack her. And the effects of Maxx's changing her still remained, whether fully or in part she didn't know.

Now, when Kali got above a certain anger level, a second set of eyes would appear. They would turn a blood red just as her own would. The angrier she got, the more she was altered. The points of her ears grew even more prominent. Then her skin would darken a few shades, supposedly ending in a red. She'd never gotten that far without trying to calm down.

But what really scared her was the feeling of growing power with the more anger she unleashed. She was starting to like it. That _really_ frightened her. She'd gone to her grandmother, whom she knew had been through all of this before. All the aging empath had been able to do was tell Kali to meditate. That helped, but the more she used it to drive the naked anger away, the less it worked. That was why she let her grandmother feed off of her anger, her fury. It calmed Kali, and gave her grandmother the option not to have to consume others' emotions without their consent. But no matter how much she meditated, no matter how much rage Raven took, Kali still felt that monster inside of her, taunting her from the corner of her mind she'd pushed it into.

Kali growled and sat up, flinging the sheets off. She didn't want to think about that anymore. She stood and went over to her dresser, pulling out jean capris, a violet t-shirt with "Anticrombie" proudly printed on the front, and white ankle socks. As she dressed, she mulled over the choosing planned for that day. Two teams were going to be chosen to go to the New York Sanctuary to update the Supers and Baddies list. She had mixed feelings about it if her team was chosen. On one hand, it was far away and New York was cold. On the other hand, she'd get to see Ruben, her boyfriend, whom she hadn't seen in person for months. She stood, padded back over to her bed, and made it, tenderly placing the old green bear atop the pillows. She then fished around under her bed until she found her shoes, black ankle hiking boots that she was rather fond of and pulled them on. Kali walked over to the door, turned, surveyed her space once more, then left the room, closing the door softly behind herself.

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Constructive criticism is welcomed! Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	3. Chapter Two: Tea and Poetry

**_Disclaimer_**: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters. I do not own the poetry of Lord Byron, nor of William Blake. I do not own the Dragon Runes.

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Kali walked quietly down the hall, doing her best to keep silent so she wouldn't wake her grandparents. Their room was across the corridor from hers.

She entered the kitchen and glanced at the clock. "7:28", it read. Kali shook her head. Why in the world do I wake up early on weekends? she wondered. She walked over the cabinets and grabbed the bread. Removing two slices (avoiding the one on the end), she put them in the toaster and pushed them down. The teen then set about making herself some tea. Herbal, of course. Like her grandmother, herbal tea was her favorite kind. She put water into the kettle and put it on the stove to heat. After that, she got out the tea ball (A/N: it's a perforated metal ball that you fill with tea. You let it steep in hot water then pull it out with the short chain attached to it). Next, she selected some herbs from the cabinets: hibiscus flowers, rose hips, lemongrass leaves, orange peel, spearmint leaves, rose petals and a pinch of stevia. These she put into the tea ball, and, when she was satisfied that the water on the stove was hot enough, put the tea ball into the water.

A moment later, her toast was done, so she set about spreading peanut butter and jelly on it. After she put her toast on a plate and had put away the pb&j, she went over to one of the bookcases in the living room and chose a book, an anthology of poetry. Her tea had to steep for at least ten more minutes. She read for more or less that amount of time, then put her book down and re-entered the kitchen. She removed the tea ball from the kettle, emptied the soggy herbs from it down the drain, and left the mesh sphere in the sink. After that, Kali selected a cup from the sideboard and poured herself some tea. Taking her plate and cup, the teen walked out to the back patio and set her breakfast upon the wrought iron table. She darted back inside for her book, subsequently going back outside and settling down to read and munch on toast.

Kali had finished her toast and working on her tea when she heard the patio door slide open. Looking up from her book, she saw a older man with green hair and skin emerge from the house.

"G'Morning, Grandpa." Kali grinned as the man kissed the top of her head."'Morning, kiddo," he responded, sitting down next to her. "How's my beautiful grandchild this fine morning?"

"Ok, I guess. Where's Grandma?" Kali wanted to know.

"Meditating," the green-skinned male replied, gesturing dismissively. "What're you reading?"

"A book of poetry."

"Which poem?" Kali turned her book around to show him.

"Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty". It's one of my favorites." Her grandfather studied the page.

"I see. Read it for me?" Kali smiled crookedly.

"You can read, Grandpa!" The man grinned, exposing beastlike canines.

"I can, but I like hearing your voice." The teen smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Ok, Grandpa. Here goes:

_She walks in beauty, like the night _

_Of cloudless climes and starry skies; _

_And all that's best of dark and bright _

_Meet in her aspect and her eyes: _

_Thus mellow'd to that tender light _

_Which heaven to gaudy day denies. _

_One shade the more, one ray the less, _

_Had half impair'd the nameless grace _

_Which waves in every raven tress, _

_Or softly lightens o'er her face; _

_Where thoughts serenely sweet express _

_How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. _

_And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, _

_So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, _

_The smiles that win, the tints that glow, _

_But tell of days in goodness spent, _

_A mind at peace with all below, _

_A heart whose love is innocent!_"

Kali's grandfather hummed contentedly, his eyes closed.

"Very nice. Read another?"

"Why not?" Kali mused. "This one's called "The Tyger" by William Blake.

_Tyger, Tyger, burning bright_

_In the forests of the night,_

_What immortal hand or eye_

_Could frame thy fearful symmetry?_

_In what distant deeps or skies_

_Burnt the fire of thine eyes?_

_On what wings dare he aspire?_

_What the hand dare seize the fire?_

_And what shoulder, & what art,_

_Could twist the sinews of thy heart?_

_And when thy heart began to beat,_

_What dread hand? & what dread feet?_

_What the hammer? what the chain?_

_In what furnace was thy brain?_

_What the anvil? what dread grasp_

_Dare its deadly terrors clasp?_

_When the stars threw down their spears_

_And water'd heaven with their tears,_

_Did he smile his work to see?_

_Did he who made the Lamb make thee?_

_Tyger, Tyger, burning bright_

_In the forests of the night,_

_What immortal hand or eye_

_Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?_"

Kali read various poems to her grandfather for the next half an hour, then at last lay down the volume.

"I have to go now, Grandpa," she said. "I'm going to be late for the choosing today." The green man made a face, and quick as a blink transformed into a cat. He looked at her with his big green eyes.

"Please stay?" Kali smiled ruefully and scratched behind the cat's ears, making it purr.

"Can't, sorry. I said I'd be there, and if we get picked, I'll get to see Ruben!" The cat shifted back into a man.

"Oh, alright. Shoo. But make sure you tell us if you get to go gallivanting off to New York." Kali gathered up her plate and empty cup.

"Don't worry, I will. Lemme say g'bye to Grandma first."

Kali scurried inside and placed her dishes in the sink. She then headed down the hall to her grandparents' room. She knocked gently on the door.

"Grandma?" she called. There was no answer. Kali opened the door and saw her grandmother sitting in the lotus position, meditating still. The elderly woman's eyes were closed, and there was an expression of peace on her face. Her long, graying black hair cascaded down her back, free of the braid she normally kept it in.

Kali crossed the room to where her grandmother sat and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

_I'm going to The Haven,_ she whispered through the bond they shared. _I'll tell you if we get chosen, ok?  
_

_Very well._ Her grandmother's voice sounded calm and relaxed within Kali's mind.

_Love you, Grandma.  
_

_I love you as well, Karis. Be cautious,_ her grandmother cautioned.

_I know will. See you later, ok?  
_

_All right. Goodbye, then.  
_

_Bye.  
_

Kali broke the connection and left the room, leaving her grandmother to her meditation. The teenager went into the living room, and with the help of her grandfather, moved a few chairs out of the way to clear a space big enough for a spell. Taking a piece of chalk from her pocket, she drew a Celtic triad within a circle on the floor. Within the top loop, she drew _Mah_, the Dragon rune of swiftness. Next, inside the botton right loop, she sketched _Shaan_, the rune of mages, and in the bottom left loop, _Abanen_, rune of the astral plane. Lastly in the center, she drew the Blinking, or teleportation, rune. Kali then replaced the chalk in her pocket and glanced at her grandfather, giving him the signal that he should stand clear. He complied, moving back far enough so that he wouldn't be affected by Kali's spell.

The teenager stepped into the center of her circle, standing atop the meeting of all the lines. Shutting her eyes, she fed magic into the marks on the floor, feeling rather then seeing them begin to shine with the silvery light that was her magic. She then awoke each rune in turn, _Mah_, S_haan_, _Abanen. _When they were at last shining brightly and she could feel the energy coursing through the symbols below her, Kali awoke the final rune, the Blinking rune. Power exploded beneath her as the spell roared to life, transporting her out of the house. When she was gone, the sliver triad faded, until there was nothing left to show that it had been there, not even a single solitary chalk line.

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Long chapter this time! 00 Constructive criticism welcomed! Flames accepted! Oh, and Kudos to those who've figured out who Kali's grandparents are! Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	4. Chapter Three: And the Groups Are

**_Disclaimer_**: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters. **TITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANS**

The room was disheveled, in a homey sort of way. There were a few old, but, judging by the amount of people crammed onto them, still comfortable couches and chairs grouped in the corner. A kitchen lay off to one side, as did a screening room, where a number of people gathered. A couple persons also just meandered leisurely through the room, looking bored, while others walked a little faster, apparently on the way to, or in the process of, doing something they considered important.

But the actual individuals were a feast for the eyes. There was a little girl, no more than eight, who had the ears, eyes, tail, occasional fur, whiskers, and teeth of a tiger cub. She was, at the moment, pouncing on a rubber dingle ball on a string. The string was being tugged by a grinning man in his early twenties. He wore only shorts and sandals; almost all of the rest of his visible skin was covered by tattoos. In the kitchen, a lizard-boy teen was dumping a glass of water upon the head of a rather enraged sixteen-year-old girl. As the water dripped down her glowering face and onto her shirt, her skin began to scale over. Her eyes enlarged, the irises becoming entirely black while the boy laughed in the girl's face. A smug look replaced the girl's angry one, and she began to sing a wordless melody. The boy's expression changed from one of mocking to one of dazed wonder. He stopped, completely under the girl's control. She smirked, then tackled him, yelling something incoherent and pummeling him, rudely waking him from the trace her siren's song had put him in.

A young man with pure white hair was having a conversation a girl about his age with hair the color of fire. The odd thing about these two was, as they took turns listening to each other, sparks of electricity would leap from the man's hand to the girl's, and small flames from her to him. Others within the room had something remarkable about them as well, but before they could be described, something began to appear on the floor.

A silver circle was first, then a triad, then the appearance of a rune. A boy of about twelve or so years was the first to notice as he glanced up from his sketch pad.

"Heads up!" he called. "Kali's comin'!" Dozens of pairs of eyes flicked toward the floor. A few people had to scramble out of the way as one final symbol drew itself on the floor and the brightness of the marks intensified. There was a flash, and when the light faded, Kali Logan stood where the symbols had been.

The room inhabitants only gazed at the newcomer for a moment before returning to their previous activities. Kali's spells were commonplace in The Haven. The teenager stepped away from the site of her transportation spell and headed toward the large set of doors at on end of the large room. But before she got even halfway, a girl a few years her junior jogged up to her.

"Listen, I'm sorry I called you a witch yesterday," Tielar, also known as Helldawn, said apologetically. "It was rude. I know you hate it." Kali shrugged.

"'S ok. I overreacted." She grinned. "You know how my temper is." Tielar beamed back at Kali and sighed in relief.

"Yeah. Well, gotta go. Sorry again!" And with that the girl trotted back to her group of friends. Kali shook her head. Although Tielar wielded the deadly ability to unmake, she was as juvenile as any other twelve-year-old when not acting as Helldawn.

As Kali exited the previous room and entered into another, she was met by two impatient faces.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" whined Dylanne, one of Kali's best friends, "you're late!"

"And Vanth wouldn't start the choosing until everyone got here!" Finn complained, looking like a pouty four-year-old.

"Well, sorry! Grandpa wanted me to read to him for a while, and my spells aren't exactly speedy, you know!" the besieged teen justified. She grinned suddenly and grabbed Finn in a headlock and began to give him a fierce noogie. "That's what Cronos here is on the team for! To give me more _time_!"

"Well, at least you're here now!" Dylanne replied, yanking Finn loose of Kali's hold and latching on to her friend's arm. "Let's **go**!" she cried, tugging Kali toward a woman who had just entered to room. Kali, unable to find a smart retort, found herself glancing over Dylanne's fashion choices.

"Why in the world is it that, when you're Delusion, you wear all black, but when you're just Dylanne, you're such a pink freak?" she asked, attempting to yank out of the vice-like grip that was on her arm.

"It's not all black," Dylanne replied airily.

"Really?" Kali snorted, eyeing the pink newsie cap her friend wore with distaste. She like purple. _Dark_ purple.

"Yes. There's a red bit on my hat, now come on!"

Dylanne and Finn marched Kali up to The Haven's administrator, Vanth, a mage just as Kali was, only without the demon DNA.

"She's here now; can we start?" the ever-eager beaver Finn wanted to know. "Can we? Huh?" Vanth rolled her eyes, but nevertheless replied with a nod of the head. "Yes!" Finn leaped into the air with extreme exuberance, then raced off to announce over the P.A. system that Kali was **_finally_** here and that the choosing would start soon.

"I could've done that myself," Vanth muttered. "That boy has too much energy and time on his hands. Literally." Kali nodded sympathetically.

"I know. He drives me crazy, too. At least you're on a team by yourself." Vanth shrugged.

"It can be both a blessing and a curse at times," she replied as the three of them (Vanth, Kali, and Dylanne) re-entered the room Kali had left only minutes ago. "Now shoo, you two."

Dylanne and Kali raced over to the ever-increasing group of people waiting for Vanth to choose the groups the go to New York. When at last everyone had packed themselves into the room, Vanth announced,

"Ok, now that everyone's here, we can begin. As I'm sure you all know, our records of "the Good Guys and the Bad Guys" desperately need to be updated.

"I will be selecting two groups to go to The Sanctuary in New York, which you all know is run by Mar'i and R'in Grayson. You may ask, 'Why don't we just do this over e-mail?' Well, the answer is that the government, as, yet again, you all know, does not like the transformed, to put it kindly. If they were to discover the existence of our refuges and refugees, the results would be disastrous. And I am positive they would be able to detect the signals those at The Sanctuary would send us, thus revealing both our locations.

"Oh, all right, I can see you all are getting restless, so I'll get on with it." Vanth drew signs in the air, magical shimmers following her fingers as they formed the charm. A whirling blur of magic appeared in the center of the diamond shape Vanth had drawn.

"And the groups are…"

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Woo! Cliffhanger this time! I hope you like this chapter. The way I worded some things seemed a little awkward to me, but then again, it's almost midnight. If you notice them too, feel free to tell me, and I'll try to fix them. If I get enough reviews, I'll stop replying to them in reviews of my own and put a little section in at the beginning of my next chapter where I'll respond to them (the reviews). Constructive criticism is welcomed! Peace and Oreos to you all, my wonderful readers. Onyx


	5. Chapter Four: Memories

**_Disclaimer_**: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters. **TITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANSTITANS**

"Of all the miserable luck…" Kali's eye twitched.

"Raj, if you're going to be negative about this, just shut up!" the irate teen snapped, glaring at the older girl sitting next to her. Chocolate brown eyes swiveled from looking out the window to glower down at Kali. Kali, not at all intimidated, stared back up at the mostly-hidden face of Rajani, also known a Sekhmet. The seventeen-year-old was a ninja with rather heightened senses. She was infamous for her foul moods and reclusive ways. She also kept her face from the nose down covered at all times.

"Kal. Raj. Knock it off," the tattooed man known as Ink said without looking up from his book. Rajani turned to glare at him, then returned to looking out the window. Kali made a face at Ink, but never the less quit her feuding with Rajani.

"How does she do that without getting dizzy?" Dylanne whispered to Kali, nudging her. Kali glanced over at her friend in the seat on her other side.

"Who does what?" she asked, confused. Dylanne rolled her eyes.

"Sekhmet look out the window without getting dizzy!" she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Every time I look out at that blur, I get so lightheaded!"

"Oh." Kali shrugged. "Dunno. Ask her." Dylanne sat back with a sigh, and Kali surveyed the cabin again for the eight hundredth time.

They were currently on a super-fast bullet train destined for New York. They'd caught on in the U.S. about a decade before. As luck would have it, Kali's group and Sekhment's had been chosen by Vanth. Sekhment's team included Ink a.k.a. Ira, and Phalanx, normally known as Gabriel. Ink could make his tattoos come alive, and Phalanx could create up to four replicas of himself. Once they had entered their cabin, the sexes had automatically separated to sit on opposite sides of the compartment. Kali was currently squished between an annoyed-with-the-world-and-life-in-general Rajani and a bored-out-of-her-skull Dylanne. Finn, across the cabin, was playing with a piece of string, doing some cat's cradle trick. Gabriel was napping. Kali reached for her pocket.

She fumbled around until she found what she was looking for: an emerald green marble. It was a info recorder. The designers had created them to be able to store vast amounts of data. Kali's stored pictures. She tossed the marble lightly into the air. It froze in midair about an inch from the surface of her palm. A holographic menu sprang up, visible only from Kali's viewpoint. She selected the file entitled _Family_. The menu changed, now displaying three folders: Mom & Dad, Grandparents, and Misc. Kali paused, then selected Mom & Dad.

Almost immediately a picture sprang up. A faintly smiling man with hair the color of grass and eyes the same color of the marble Kali held had his arm around a brown-haired woman. Her jade-colored eyes seemed to sparkle and there was an expression of complete happiness on her face. In her arms, there was a small child with black hair and large violet eyes wearing purple overalls and a white t-shirt.

Kali's throat tightened. They looked so content in that picture. Oh, God, she missed them They'd died in an explosion set off by the SFPD when she'd been six. She'd been there, too. Even though it'd been a little over eight years ago, Kali remembered it perfectly.

Flashback

_There was a panicked look on Rosethorn's face as she glanced wildly around the nearly deserted street. Sage, her husband, was fighting off Euthanasia with a group of other super powered adults. Euthanasia'd attacked them while they were out walking. That was the only reason Kali was with them. _

_Rosethorn cringed as green voices around her cried out in agony as they were ripped to pieces by some explosive force. The sounds of detonations could be heard very close by, and they were getting closer._

_"Kali!" Rosethorn took her small daughter's shoulders. "Kali, run! Run now!"_

_"B-b-but Mommy, I-"_

_"Kali, _**go**_! Run as fast as you can, away from here!" The note of terror in her mother's voice made the six-year-old obey, and she took off running as fast as her small legs could carry her. She hadn't gotten far when there was a kaboom from behind her. Kali screamed as the shockwave knocked her to the ground and tiny hard things scored the back of her neck, arms, and legs. A moment later, it was over. Kali, frightened and wanting her mother, got up and ran back the way she had come, ignoring the pain of the lacerations on her small limbs. _

_She stopped short at the sight of the battered and still bodies that littered the ground. _

_"Mommy?" she called shakily. "Mommy, where are you?" Upon receiving no answer, Kali stumbled forward, searching faces. Up ahead she caught glimpse of the familiar reddish brown hair and green outfit. _

_"Mommy?" Kali raced forward and knelt beside her mother's body. Blood trickled down the woman's face in several places, and there were dark patches on her clothing. Her eyes were closed. "Mommy, wake up," she begged. Kali shook the unmoving form of her mother. "Mommy, wake up! Please!" the little girl howled, tears running down her face. "_Please_!"_

_"Hey!" A loud voice shook Kali from her unsuccessful attempts to revive her mother. A tall man in black and white body armor stood at the edge of the destruction. He held a gun. "Hey, one of them survived!" _

_"What!" A few more figures jogged up. "No way! Those bombs shoulda killed every one of those super-freaks!"_

_"Obviously not," the first man growled. "Get her!" They started toward her. Kali yelped in fear. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted away from her mother's body. An energy burst narrowly missed her. She looked back. They were aiming their weapons at her! Suddenly, Kali pitched forward and landed on her face. Looking down, Kali felt her eyes widen as she saw what she had tripped over. _

_Emerald green eyes gazed unblinking up at her from a very familiar face. Her father's bloody corpse. She little girl shrieked and scrabbled away. Another energy blast grazed her, and she screamed again, terror's icy finger wrapping around her heart. And then there was a flash._

_When she opened her eyes a second later, Kali found herself not outside in a body laden square, but in the living room of a house that she knew._

_"Grandma!" she shouted, struggling to her feet. "Grandpa!" All of a sudden, Kali felt strong, steady hands on her shoulders. She spun around, only to come face-to-face with her father's parents. _

_"Kali? What's wrong? How did you get here?" her grandfather asked. Ignoring him, Kali noticed her grandmother standing behind her grandfather with a stricken look on her face._

_"Grandma- it's - they - Mommy and Daddy are hurt and, and I c-couldn't wake them up! Scary guys with guns were chasing me! I'm scared!" Kali broke free of her grandfather's hold and ran to her grandmother. She grabbed her grandmother around the waist and hung on, sobbing. She felt a hand slowly stroke the top of her head, and something seemed to tug on her heart. Her fear and sadness fled, and darkness rushed up to meet her._

End Flashback (A/N: I know it's long. Sorry.)

Kali inhaled shakily and closed her hand around the cold marble, shutting off the hologram. She replaced it in her pocket, and with trembling hands rubbed the back of her neck. They were still there, the scars. The cuts'd been deep, and even after her grandmother had healed them, marks had still remained. And that flash…it'd been the first time she'd ever used magic, albeit it had been intentional.

Kali slowly shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She joined Rajani in staring blankly out the window, and without realizing it, slipped into meditation.

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And we get a glimpse into Kali's past in this chapter. Meh. I bet you know where she fits into the original comic series now, don't you? Oh, well. Constructive criticism welcomed.

Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	6. Arguments and Diamonds

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters.

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"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaali." She was being shaken. Violet eyes opened to glare at the person doing the shaking.

"What?" Kali asked sharply, not happy at being brought out of meditation.

"Geez louise," Dylanne muttered, offended. "Just thought you might want to know that we're here."

"Oh." Kali rubbed a hand across her eyes. "Already?"

"Yes," came a sour voice. "The hours slipped away while you stared into thin air like an freak." Kali sprang to her feet and was about to say something very rude to Rajani when Ink suddenly cut in.

"The same could be said of you, Raj," he reminded. The belligerent ninja crossed her arms.

"Really?" she shot back, her voice filled with venom, just daring him to respond. Ink nodded.

"Yep. You stared out the window almost the entire time. Now come on." He picked up his book, and, without a backward glance, strode out of the compartment. Kali and Rajani glared daggers at each other for another moment, then stormed out after Ink. Dylanne followed, shaking her head.

They were met by Finn and Gabriel when they got off the train, and the six of them walked out of the station together. Once they were outside, they glanced around for a moment before they heard,

"Hey, Ira." Six pairs of eyes turned toward the voice. There, leaning on a pillar, was a woman with long red and sunglasses. Her skin, strangely, was an orangey color. She and Ira hugged.

"Hey, Mar'i. How's it goin'?" The woman shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. Maxx's been active lately. C'mon. Let's get on our way."

"At last," Kali heard Rajani mutter. "I thought they'd blab forever."

"Just shut up, would ya?" Kali hissed, following Mar'i, Ira, and the others.

"Make me, shorty," the older girl shot back.

"I don't have the recipe," Kali retorted.

It continued this way, even while they discreetly crossed through the barrier that kept The Sanctuary hidden and normal people out. It was in an old part of New York that many people thought had been totally decimated years ago.

"Shove off, Witch!" Rajani growled as the entered the building, pushing Kali hard into a wall. Kali let out an indignant yell and stormed back over to Rajani.

"You wanna go!" she snarled up at the older girl, who towered over her.

"As a matter of fact, yes!" Kali's eyes widened when she saw Rajani pull out a wakizashi (AN: it's a short sword, kind of like a dagger, used in close combat by samurai, or in this case, a ninja) she had concealed, but the fourteen-year-old soon snapped into battle mode.

"_Advoco_!" she whispered, and a dagger appeared in her hand. It was the one she used in close combat when she did not have time to perform a spell. Rajani snorted.

"You think you're going to beat me with that?"

"Hell yes!" Kali sent her power pulsing through the blade, awakening its magical potential. Sigils and runes carved into the blade began to glow.

"**_Enough_**!" A starbolt crashed into each Rajani and Kali, knocking them away from each other. Surprised, they looked up into the livid face of Mar'i. "Settle your disputes while you spar on the practice courts, but not here, where you could seriously harm an innocent!" the half-Tameranian roared, making both Kali and Rajani gulp. "_Do you understand me_?" They nodded, wide-eyed, neither wanting to make Mar'i any angrier. The orange-skinned woman extinguished her starbolts, scowling. "Good."

Kali and Rajani simultaneously put away their blades, mumbling apologies to Mar'i.

She shook her head.

"You two are acting like children, and are both old enough to know better." She and Ink then turned and walked away. Rajani scrambled to her feet and stalked off, the visible part of her face scarlet. Kali took Dylanne's offered hand, and, as her friend pulled her to her feet, glanced around at everyone's bewildered faces.

"What?" she wanted to know.

"If you get this wound up during an _argument_," Gabriel said in awe, "I'd hate to see you in a rage!" Finn and Dylanne nodded in agreement, speechless.

**LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER  
**

"**_She_** started it!" Kali fumed to her boyfriend. "I don't know what it is about her, but she **_INFURIATES _**me!" Ruben, who had been listening to Kali's rant with crossed arms for the last twenty minutes, came up behind her and put his arms around his cross girlfriend. She relaxed in his arms, her tense muscles loosening up and her fierce glower diminishing into a pout.

"'Ey, there," he soothed. "Somethin' bugs everybody. But hey. I think I've got something that will cheer you up."

"Really?" Kali asked, surprise melting her frown into a look of curiosity.

"Yep." Ruben reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a box. Her handed it to her. "Here." Kali looked questioningly at him before removing the box's lid. It's contents made her gasp. Inside was a slightly domed circular pendant on a delicate chain. In the center was a Celtic triad within a circle, and upon the rest of the surface were intricate Celtic designs. The entire thing was made purely of diamond.

"Oh my god!" she breathed. She looked up at Ruben, wonder on her face. "This is gorgeous! Where on the world did you get it?" Ruben shrugged, smiling, suddenly self-conscious.

"I…I made it. You know with my-" he twiddled his fingers, "powers." Kali gaped at him for a second, then threw her arms around him.

"Ru, this is this best work you've ever done! Thank you so much!"

"W-want me to-?" Ruben stammered.

"If you don't mind." She lifted her hair and turned around.

"Not at all." Ruben took the necklace and fastened it around Kali's neck. "I know you like triads, so I just thought you might like-" Kali turned back toward him and kissed Ruben on the lips, halting his explanation.

"Thanks," she said, breaking from the kiss.

"You're welcome," he replied. They embraced, and, later, kissed again.

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Another chapter, finally! Had a busy week. Writer's block, too. I'm glad to write for Messenger again. I missed it. FYI, Ruben can turn anything around him into diamond, including air, so it looks like it appears out of nowhere. He can also manipulate it to his will. Well, I think that's it. Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	7. Chapter Six: Leaving Already?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own my characters.

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"I can't believe these two days have gone by so fast!" exclaimed the platinum blonde telepath known as Psyche. Her words were punctuated by a cheep from her "seeing eye" bird Amaterasu. Psyche was blind. She and Kali hugged.

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss you guys." Kali exchanged a few more hugs with the black-winged Darkangel, white-clad Eos, and speedster Dodger.

"Wellyouknowhowtoreachusifyouneedsomeonetotalkto," Dodger reminded, speaking quickly as she always did. "Youknowbesidesthecrazypeopleoverthere."

"Hey! Watch it! I'm one of the 'crazy people over there', too, you know!" Kali cried, feigning an indignant tone and expression. Eos chuckled and put a hand on Kali's shoulder.

"Don't we know it. Now I think your boyfriend wants to say his goodbyes, too." She shoved Kali toward Ruben, grinning. Kali grinned back and stuck her tongue out at her friends, giggling when they responded the same way.

"Hey." Kali felt Ruben's arms encircle her. "You're leaving me now?" Kali turned to face him. "I'm so hurt."

"I'm sure you are." Kali returned the embrace, then let go. "I'm going to IM and E-mail you AMAIC."

"'AMAIC'?" Ruben asked, eyebrow raised.

"As Much As I Can."

"Ah."

"I'm going to miss you so much, Ru." Kali looked ruefully up at Ruben, who was at least two inches taller than she was.

"I'll miss you too," he said, kissing her forehead. "You've still got the necklace I gave you?"

"Yep." Kali held the charm up from around her neck.

"Think about me whenever you wear it, ok?"

"Ok." Kali smiled. "I'll wear it every day." She hugged him again. "Bye, Ru."

"Bye, Kali." Kali waved to him as she walked away backwards, and watched him until she reached the doors.

"Ready to go?" Dylanne asked when Kali stepped outside.

"Yep. You?" Dylanne nodded.

"We're only waiting on Rajani." Kali snorted.

"Figures."

"Don't you start this again!" Dylanne cried. "We don't need a war on our hands!"

"Ugh. Fine." Kali sighed, then stood straighter as Rajani strode out of the Sanctuary's front doors a moment later.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she grumbled. "Fenrir and Jericho were being clingy."

"I'm sure," Ink said absentmindedly. "Now, is everyone here?" He looked around, lips moving silently as he counted. "Got the List, Logan?" Kali held up the deep blue marble.

"Yeah."

"Good. Let's hit the road!"

And the two groups were off. They'd made it about halfway to the train station without too much sniping (AN: to me, this means arguing) when Ink's comm began to beep. After the teams ducked into an alley, he picked up.

"Hello?" Pause. "Hi, Mar'i." Pause. "He is? Where?" Pause. "Yes, we'll take care of it. G'bye." There was a peeved look on his face as her put the communicator away.

"So what'd Mar'i want?" Gabriel inquired. Ink gazed around at everyone.

"Magnon's been sighted downtown. Think we can handle 'im?"

"No duh!" Finn exclaimed.

"What he said," Gabriel put in.

"So we're up for this?" Ink asked, a serious look on his face. Receiving impatient nods from everyone, he let out an, "Ok, then. Let's do this!"

Almost simultaneously, everyone voiced the word "_dissimulo_". In a moment everyone was clothed on their trademark costumes. Kali, known as Wicca in costume, wore a uniform modeled heavily after what her grandmother had used to wear. Sekhmet had on the all black clothes of a ninja, and had a katana in a scabbard strapped to her back. Delusion was dressed in all black, and wore had a cape and a top hat as well. Ink wore shorts and boots only; all his visible skin was covered in tattoos. Phalanx had on a blue and silver uniform, along with light body armor. Cronos' outfit was, basically, pants and a tee with ragged edges that were emblazoned with symbols so alien not even the resident sorceress could tell what they meant.

Kali did a teleportation spell (AN: like in Ch.2), bringing them all to Mar'i's coordinates. As soon as they arrived, they had to scatter to avoid being crushed by falling I-beams. Looking up, everyone found who thy were looking for. A man levitated six feet above the ground, laughing, raising an arm to bring more metal into the air. Ink brought his griffin tattoo to life and sent it up at Magnon. It attacked him, screeching. The man yelled and brought the metal poles down onto the griffin's head, knocking it away. Sekhmet hurled a razor-sharp throwing star at Magnon; he stopped it with a wave of his hand and sent it back at her. She dodged just in time. Finn paused time for a moment so Phalanx could get out from under more falling debris Magnon had thrown at him. Kali muttered constantly under her breath, trying to bring Magnon down to earth with a spell.

The levitating man began to descend, slowly at first, then faster. He panicked and tried to regain altitude, but couldn't do it. Sekhmet leaped at him, katana drawn. Magnon managed to twist the metal away before the ninja could slash at him, but even without her sword, Sekhmet did some damage. She punched him, breaking his nose. Phalanx split up into four, surrounding the fallen villain. Still Kali chanted, keeping the man from getting back into the air. Cronos, Ink, and Delusion moved in closer. By the intensity of Delusion's stare, she was apparently weaving an illusion around Magnon, perhaps making him see more of them than there were.

All of a sudden, despite the blood pouring from his nose, Magnon began to laugh. The group exchanged glances.

"What's so funny?" Cronos wanted to know.

"This!" came a growling voice from behind him. Before anyone could tell what was going on, the boy was lifted high into the air and then dropped. He landed in a heap and didn't move. The two teams spun around.

There, behind them, were the other member of the SS2: Fear. Loathing. Omega. Sixth. And to Kali's horror, Geno-Maxx.

"Happy to thee me, Whith?" he lisped in his annoying, squeaky voice. The other members of the SS2 grinned maliciously. They then attacked.

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Meh. Not happy where this chapter ended, but my sister is screaming for computer time. Oh, well. I'll start working on the next chapter tonight! That is, if my sister's off by then.

Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	8. Chapter Seven: Are they?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any villains affiliated with them. I only own my characters, which are as follows: Wicca (Kali), Delusion (Dylanne), Cronos (Finn), Ink (Ira), Phalanx (Gabriel), Sekhmet (Rajani), Geno-Maxx, Fear, Loathing, Omega, and Sixth. Those are the ones in this chapter. I accept flames about **_MY STORY_**, not the topic. Thank you, dirty-witch, for bringing this problem to my attention oh-so-gracefully. > 

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Wicca had no time to attack Sixth. She was too busy keeping him out of her mind. While she struggled with his mental assaults, he used his other powers to send energy waves, blasts, and whatever was lying around her way. She dodged some of what he threw at her, but most of it did hit her. And there was no one available to help her.

Ink was grappling with a mind controlled Rajani, courtesy of Loathing. Phalanx (all four of him), was lashing wildly out at some unseen terror while Fear stood nearby, manipulating the boy's mind and laughing. Delusion was giving Geno-Maxx one of her infamous death-glares, locking him inside an illusion, keeping him away from Wicca. If he got control of her, they were dead. She also kept Magnon busy with a separate illusion. Cronos was grappling with Omega, who kept cutting right through the bubbles of frozen or accelerated time he put the villain in.

At last, Omega knocked Cronos out with a strong mental blast. The boy fell forward and hit the pavement with a nasty-sounding 'CRACK'. His head bounced back up off the blacktop an inch or two, then hit it again.

Delusion saw him go down.

"Cronos!" she screamed, losing her grip on her illusions. A second later she had them back up, along with another, less-complex illusion around Omega. She raced to the fallen Cronos and crouched beside him. Turning him over, she found a very grave-looking gash on the ten-year-old's forehead. Knowing she had no expertise in that area, she turned her head and scanned her teammates.

Kali crashed to the ground as an energy blast from Sixth slammed into her. She kept her eyes shut tight, tensing, waiting for another. A second later, she realized she didn't feel his mental attacks battering her shields anymore. She opened her eyes and immediately found Delusion. Her friend was on the ground, holding a limp and bleeding Cronos on her lap. Delusion had her eyes shut and a strained look on her face. Kali also saw four bad guys attacking nothing but air. Determining that it was Delusion's doing that kept the criminals fooled, she went to her teammate and took the injured youth in her arms.

Looking Cronos over, Kali quickly made her diagnosis. He'd had received a severe head trauma and possibly a concussion.

"C-can you h-h-heal 'im?" Delusion gasped, teeth gritted over the effort of keeping up four large-scale illusions going on people who were fighting them, all at the same time.

"Yes, but I need time." Kali looked up at her friend. "Can you give me that?" Delusion was sweating bullets and looked very _very **very**_ tense.

"I dunno!" she wailed. "Wic-ca, they f-fighting, me! I can't hold th-is-" Delusion's eyes sprang open and she gasped. "Shit!"

Looking up, Kali saw Magnon, Sixth, Omega, and Geno-Maxx staring at them.

"The bunnies!" Geno-Maxx said dazedly. "Where'd the bunnies go?" The other three villains growled their annoyance at their idiotic companion. Then, at the same time, Magnon and Omega shot blasts of energy at Wicca, Delusion, and Cronos. Delusion squeaked and ducked; Kali shielded the unconscious Cronos with her body as the huge energy wave ripped through the air above them. A moment later, another wave of energy, this time from Sixth, crashed into the trio, sending them flying backward.

They felt as if they'd hit something hard and shattered it. A blinding light exploded around them, and when it disappeared, Delusion, Cronos, and Wicca were nowhere to be seen.

The SS2 stared.

"What the h-?" Magnon began. He was cut off by someone hitting him in the back of the head, knocking him out. Rajani, now freed of the mind control by the distracted Loathing, rushed at Geno-Maxx. The rest of her team was able to attack the villains without too much trouble, as the element of surprise was theirs now. The battle quickly turned in their favor, and within twenty minutes they had rendered each and every member of the Society of Sin 2 unconscious.

Ink, Sekhmet, and Phalanx all stared at the empty space where the other team had been a while ago.

"Where'd they go?" Phalanx asked, a very confused look on his face. Ink looked no more enlightened.

"I have no idea." He glanced over at Sekhmet and Phalanx. "But I'm sure Vanth will be able to tell. Let's go, before the NYPD get here." The other two teens nodded, both knowing what would happen if they were found by any branch of the law. None of them wanted to die. With a quick mumble of "_reverto"_, they were returned to their normal clothes and sprinted for the train station, intent of boarding the next and fastest bullet train to San Francisco.

**ELSEWHERE ELSEWHERE ELSEWHERE**

Kali cautiously opened one eye, then the other. Looking around, she recognized none of their surroundings. Glancing down, she saw that she still held Cronos. Delusion was next to her, looking equally confused. The black-clad illusionist opened her moth to speak, but was interrupted by a deep male voice.

"Who the hell are you kids?" Two pairs of eyes instantaneously swiveled in the direction of the voice. About twenty yards away stood a tall black man wearing an outrageous outfit. He wore a yellow mask with a white skullcap-like thing. Fanning out behind his head and shoulders was a red, crinkled ruff.

"Whatever, I don' care who you are! You dressed like Titans, you're goin' down!" Kali met Delusion's eyes; a spark of understanding passed between the two. Delusion switched her gaze from her friend to the oddly dressed man. Within a fraction of a second, the man was wrapped in an illusion that kept him blind and unmoving. With a nod from her conscious teammate, Kali walked forward. Quickly she drew a circle around the man. Around the edges, she drew the necessary signs and symbols to make a teleportation spell. This one was more complicated that her normal triad and five runes. She wasn't going to ask Delusion to make this guy move so she could make all the interconnecting lines beneath this behemoth.

When she was done, Kali surveyed the man again. Suddenly, something in her mind clicked. Now she remembered where she'd seen this hideous outfit before!

"Delusion!" she called. "This guy- I remember him!" Delusion came over to her, eyebrow raised.

"From where?" she wanted to know.

"The List! He's that one voodoo dude from…" Kali paused, thinking hard. "The 80's, I think." Delusion looked at her in disbelief.

"So, what? You're thinking we're in the 80's somewhere?" Kali nodded.

"I think so." She surveyed the surroundings again. "Somewhere in New York." Delusion looked dumbfounded.

"Perfect," she muttered, staring at the guy within her illusion and Kali's spell in mild disgust. Carefully, she walked over to him and plucked something off his belt. "His doll and poking stylus thing," she explained in response to Kali questioning look. "I remember _some things_ about him now." Kali nodded.

"Ok. Where do I send him?" Delusion considered.

"Jail, maybe?" Kali shrugged.

"Worth a shot. I think I remember where it is, but if he ends up inside a wall somewhere, I'm sure New York'll be better off without 'im."

The two girls stepped away, and Kali awoke the spell, sending the offending voodoo guy away, hopefully to jail. Once that was done, Delusion looked down at the stuff in her hands.

"Wha'do I do with this stuff?"

"Leave it there for a second. I need to take care of Cronos." Kali walked back to where they'd left the blonde and bleeding boy and sat down next to him. Delusion put the doll and stylus down and joined Kali. Just as Kali started drawing a circle in magic around Cronos's wound, Delusion noticed some oddly colored smoke (it was pink) beginning to appear not ten meters from them.

"Kali." She poked her friend. "What'zat?" Kali looked, then paled, recognizing immediately what it was.

"Make us invisible," she ordered. Delusion looked puzzled.

"Why-"

"Just do it!" Kali hissed. "Now!" Shrugging, Delusion complied. She set up an illusion around the three of them, making sure they were completely invisible.

"There. Now why-"

Delusion was cut off by the abrupt appearance of eight people. The pink smoke that accompanied their appearance seemed to have come from a white cloaked woman. Delusion's jaw dropped as she realized who the people were.

"Are they-" Kali hurriedly put her hand over her friend's mouth.

"Yes," she whispered. "The Teen Titans."  
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Yay! Another chapter! I got into the 'past' bit now! Ok, the guy Kali and Delusion encountered was Hougan, a voodoo master guy from the comics. His outfit really is bad. He looks freaky, and not on the good way. Anyhoo, I'm proud to have gotten this far!

Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	9. Chapter Eight: Distractions

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dragon Runes. I do not own the Teen Titans or any villains affiliated with them. I only own my characters, which are as follows: Wicca (Kali), Delusion (Dylanne), Cronos (Finn). Those are the ones in this chapter. I accept flames about **_MY STORY_**, not the topic. Thank you, dirty-witch, for bringing this problem to my attention oh-so-gracefully. 

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Kali kept her hand over her friend's mouth as she watched the golden-skinned alien walk towards the items Delusion had taken from Hougan. They lay on the ground, far closer to the illusion that kept her, Delusion, and Cronos hidden than Kali would have liked. The woman known as Starfire paused when a dark-haired man, Nightwing, cautioned her against it. The bow-wielding Speedy suggested that it might be a trap. Starfire, after considering the men's words, completely disregarded their advice. She picked up the tools and brought them back over to the group, ignoring the miffed looks on Nightwing's and Speedy's faces.

As the other team discussed the possibilities of what had happened, Kali slowly brought her hand away from Delusion's face.

"I have to heal Cronos, 'k?" she whispered. "Can you keep us hidden?" Delusion nodded.

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Kali picked up where she left off, quickly completing the circle around Cronos's injury. Atop the gash, she lightly drew Ra, Dragon Rune of healing, earning a groan from the unconscious boy.

"Shh," she whispered to him, praying that the Titans hadn't head that. Looking over at the other team, she winced. They were looking around suspiciously. They'd heard. Starfire's hands were glowing, starbolts at the ready. Speedy had an arrow nocked to the string of his bow. Changeling had changed into a bloodhound, and was sniffing around. Cyborg was scanning the area. Nightwing and Troia were tense and at the ready, as was Jericho. Kali couldn't tell what Raven was doing, thanks to the dark hood her future grandmother wore.

Cronos shifted and groaned again. Speedy honed in on the noise and fired an arrow. Surprised registered clearly on his face when he saw it disappear. He hadn't missed, however. It had slid through Delusion's illusions (AN: wow. Weird combination. It rhymes!) and punched right through Kali's shoulder. The sorceress lurched as she grabbed at her injured arm, her mouth and throat working as the girl tried her very hardest not to scream.

"Ok, who's in there?" Speedy wanted to know, nocking another arrow to his bow. Kali stole a quick glanced at the Titans. Nightwing was asking Raven something, and the empath nodded.

"We know you're there!" Troia called in the teenagers' direction. Looking away, Kali inhaled and exhaled shakily, then reached for her boot. She withdrew the dagger she had used earlier in her almost-fight with Rajani. Pulling back her cape, she ripped a bit of the sleeve of her leotard away. She swallowed hard, looking at the offending projectile. The arrow was lodged near the top of her shoulder. Kali positioned the blade above the arrow. She took a shuddering breath, then cut quick and hard.

The teen barely managed to keep herself from screaming bloody murder. Barely. She'd cut down to the shaft of the arrow, right through her own flesh and muscle. She dropped her dagger on the pavement, ignoring the 'clang' it made. Kali took ahold of the arrow's shaft and, steeling herself, eased the it out of her shoulder.

"Wicca, what do I do?" Delusion whispered desperately. "They want us to show ourselves, or they're gonna shoot again!"

"When did they say that?" Kali asked, struggling to keep her voice low.

"While you were operating on yourself!" Delusion replied. A sympathetic look came over the illusionist's features. "Musta hurt really bad for you not to'uve heard." Kali nodded, sweating. She still had to heal Cronos, and Nightwing was demanding that they show themselves.

"C'mon out or we're gonna haf'ta attack ya!" Cyborg called out. "Las' chance." Delusion glanced at Kali, a panicked look on her face, and mouthed, 'What do I do?' Kali hesitated, then mouthed back, 'Let them go' while using her good arm to raise her hood. Delusion nodded, then called,

"We're coming out, ok? I'm going to lower my illusions!" She did so, and when the Titans saw them, surprise was clear on their faces. There was a bit of talking among them for a second, but Nightwing soon called,

"Ok, you in the white, stand up!" Beneath her hood, Kali glared at him, sweat trickling down her face. She was in pain, bleeding, and trying to heal a potentially life-threatening injury, and he was breaking her concentration. She moved her hand over Cronos's forehead again, trying to call magic into the circle and rune she'd sketched there.

"Stand up _now_." There was a threatening note in the man's voice, and, reluctantly, Kali stood. Pain and growing exhaustion was making her weak as she strove to heal the unconscious boy on the ground. "Good. Step away from the boy." Kali looked up at the black-clad man, glaring.

"No." Her voice came out in a barely audible rasp, but there was enough of a silence around for everyone to hear it. She closed her eyes, fighting to close Cronos's gash and heal his concussion. She couldn't do it, not from this distance. She had to touch his skin with hers, or have her hands very close to the injury.

"Step . **_AWAY_**."

"And I said _No_." Kali thrust all the magic she could downward, into _Ra_ and the circle, causing it to glow. She gritted her teeth, sweating. It wasn't enough.

"What in X'hal's name is she doing?" Kali heard Starfire ask, but she ignored it, concentrating for one last burst of power.

"Whatever it is, stop right now-" The rune within the circle flashed, leaving spots dancing in front of Kali's eyes. She suddenly felt as if she'd been hit head on by a bullet train. Her head throbbed like hell. She dimly heard someone near her inhale and sit up, but then there was a rushing in her ears and she fell back, hearing and seeing no more.

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All of a sudden, a few seconds after Vic had called out a warning, out of nowhere a voice called, "We're coming out, ok? I'm going to lower my illusions!" And not ten feet away, right where Roy had shot a few minutes before, the air shimmered. Three people could now be seen: standing, there was a dark-haired girl all in black, wearing a cape and a top hat, and behind her, someone in with hunched over a small boy with a bloody cut on his head. Laying on the ground near the person in white was a knife that was smeared in blood.

"Hera," Troia breathed, "they're just children!"

"Yeah, bu'tha' kid in white…wi'tha' knife…I'm thinking' tha' knife's za thing tha' hurt the boy." Vic looked over at Nightwing, who nodded.

"Agreed. We need to get those two away from that boy, and then Raven can heal him." Looking back toward the kids, he called,

"Ok, you in the white, stand up!" The person ignored him, holding his?her? hand over the boy's head.

"Stand up _now_," Nightwing said, voice now threatening. A white-cowled head looked his way, and the figure in white stood. It looked like a miniature Raven, with only small changes to the outfit. "Good. Step away from the boy."

"No." The voice from beneath the hood was harsh and grating. Nightwing could not determine the sex.

"Step . **_AWAY_**," Dick Grayson repeated, a glare beginning on his face.

"And I said _No_." A white light began to emanate from the boy's forehead, surprising everyone.

"What in X'hal's name is she doing?" Kori asked, puzzled. Nightwing was starting to get very annoyed with this child in white.

"Whatever it is, stop right now-" he began, but before he could finish, the light intensified tenfold, leaving everyone blinking away spots. The formerly bleeding and unconscious boy sat up with a gasp, making about half the Titans' jaws drop. The person in white swayed, then collapsed to the ground. The hood fell back, revealing a youthful teenage girl with jet black, wavy hair.

Nightwing stared. The girl looked _just like Raven_. The girl's eyes were closed, and a very familiar gash on her forehead trickled blood down onto her white cloak, which was already beginning to darken with blood pouring from a slash on her shoulder.

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Yay! My birthday's in 11 days! dances And another chapter, finally! I've been busy! I went to the St. Louis Mills today! Please review, and when you do, you may grab a handful of Oreos and a glass of milk from over there. points Thanks! walks away, singing the theme from _Sweeny Todd_

Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	10. Where Am I?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any villains affiliated with them. I only own my characters, which are as follows: Wicca (Kali), Delusion (Dylanne), Cronos (Finn). Those are the ones in this chapter. I accept flames about **_MY STORY_**, not the topic. Thank you, dirty-witch, for bringing this problem to my attention oh-so-gracefully. 

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_Stupid curtains,_ Kali thought, waking up seeing red light filter through her closed eyelids. _I swear, I'm gonna buy blackout ones-_ Opening her eyes, Kali expected to see the violet and silver walls of her room. Instead, she found herself inside a sterile-looking white room in what seemed to be a hospital-type bed, with harsh white lights glaring down at her from the ceiling. She sat up with a gasp, causing a wave of dizziness to slam into her. _Where on earth am I?_ Looking down at herself, she saw that she was wearing her uniform minus her boots and cloak.

You should be resting, the teenager heard a soft voice say. Kali whipped her head around and came face-to-face with a younger version of her grandmother. The memories of the previous events came back to her in a rush as Kali stared at the white-clad woman who stood beside her bed.

"Ohhhhh, man," Kali mumbled, falling back on the pillows. She looked up at Raven. "Where am I? What happened? Is Cronos ok?" she asked, a thousand worries filling her mind. What if Dylanne or Finn had told who they, or she, was? What if Finn was still hurt? Was he in a hospital or something? Where was she? What if they took a bit of her DNA and compared it to- no, they probably wouldn't do that- Kali put a hand to her head, wincing, as the room spun when another wave of dizziness hit her. "And why the hell am I so dizzy?"

You are in the infirmary of Titans Tower. You collapsed when you tried to…_heal_ your friend, I believe. He is unharmed. Kali sighed happily.

"Good. I mean, I had such a hard time calling magic to that spell, I thought maybe I did it wrong-" Kali felt something nudge her mind, something that she had trouble identifying for a moment. Then it hit her: curiosity. She was feeling Raven's curiosity. She looked up at the woman beside her bed, eyes wide in surprise. When her grandmother's soul-self and Kali's own had collided and integrated once by accident, they'd each retained the other's memories, an easily accessed mental link, and a small bit of the other's abilities. Kali had gained the ability to faintly pick up the very strongest emotion another person was feeling. Her grandmother was able to detect magic in the working.

Raven was now looking back at Kali, a puzzled look on her face. Shoving away her feelings of surprise and familiarity, Kali put a hand to her shoulder, and, feeling the smooth, whole skin, she asked,

"Did you heal me?"

Yes. Kali was inwardly relieved when the empath stopped thinking about her emotions and focused on the question. I am sorry, but I was unable to entirely heal the head trauma you received. I am incapable of - 

"Curing a disease or anything potentially lethal," Kali interrupted, mentally cursing herself when she realized what she'd said. How was she supposed to explain how she knew what Raven was capable of? She'd just opened her moth to attempt an explanation when a loud voice cried,

"You're awake!" Kali'd barely turned toward the source of the noise when she felt arms fling themselves around her. "Holy scraps, Wicca! I thought you were gonna _die_, you were bleeding so much!" Kali blinked.

"Yeah, and it's your fault. If you hadn't made all that noise and given Speedy such an obvious target…" She glared down at him. Cronos looked up at her with sad eyes.

"I'm really sorry-" Kali grinned, then returned Cronos's hug.

"Oh, it's ok. I'm fine now, thanks to Raven." Kali looked around and blinked again. Raven wasn't where she'd been a second ago. Glancing at the door, Kali found the empath about to leave. "Hey, wait a sec!" she called. The cloaked figure paused. "I didn't get to say thanks yet!" Kali stopped for a second, then continued. "Thanks for healing me, Raven."

You are welcome, the woman answered before rushing out the door. Kali raised an eyebrow.

"Whaaatever," she mumbled. Looking over at Cronos, she asked, "So what did you guys tell them? The Titans, I mean?" Cronos hopped up on the bed and sat down, cross-legged.

"Delusion just told 'em we're from the future, and some bad guys sent us here by accident."

"That's all?" Kali wanted to know. "Nothing else?" Cronos shook his head.

"Nope. Nuthin'."

"Oh. Ok." She looked sidelong at her friend. "Can you find Delusion and ask her to come in here?"

"Sure." Cronos hopped down and raced out of the room. Kali smiled and shook her head. He had way to much energy. Remembering that Raven said she hadn't healed Kali's head all the way, Kali drew the healing spell on her forehead and healed it herself. When she found that she herself had had a concussion, Kali was bewildered. How had that happened? Remembering the feeling she'd had right before she'd passed out, she concluded that she hadn't really **healed ** Cronos, she'd just transferred his wounds to herself.

As she levered herself out of the bed, Delusion walked in.

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself. You feeling ok?" Delusion inquired as Kali tugged on her boots. She'd found them beside the bed.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Finished, Kali looked around for her cloak.

"Well, that's good. You looked really bad when they brought you here," Delusion remarked, picking up Kali's mantle from a side table and handing it to her friend.

"What did you tell them?" Kali questioned, pulling her cloak on. There was still blood on it. Grimacing, she muttered, "_reverto"_.

"What are you doing?" Delusion hissed as Kali's uniform melted back into her normal clothes. "They could see you!"

"Hold on, hold on!" Kali reassured. She then uttered the companion spell, _dissimulo_, and her casual clothes changed back into her uniform. There was now no blood on her cloak, nor any tear in her sleeve.

"Ahh, I see what you were doing. But please, don't do that again," Delusion pleaded as she began to walk toward the door.

"Ok, I won't" Kali assured her friend, strolling beside her.

"Thank you." Delusion put an arm around Kali's shoulders and squeezed as they walked. "You know, I'm glad you're ok." Kali smiled.

"Thanks." She skimmed their surroundings as they walked out of the infirmary. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"The Titans said they wanted to see you as soon as you were better." Delusion looked over at her friend. "To ask you some questions. And seeing as you're fine now…"

"Why?" The black-caped teenager shrugged. "Dunno. They asked Cronos an' me some stuff, too. I think they might wanna know what you did with Cronos."

Kali was quiet. She could answer their questions about her spell, yes, she had no problem with that, but what if they asked her about who she was? What was she supposed to say then? And Raven could tell if you were lying…

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To tell the truth or not to tell the truth, that is the question… Anyhoo, the voice of Raven in this chapter and the Titans' voices in the previous chapter were really bad. Sorry. I'm just not good with that kind of stuff! Oh, well. Check out Kali's poems that I posted yesterday. The title is 'Messenger Poems'. So…yeah. Take a look if you want.

Peace and Oreos, Onyx


	11. Chapter 11: Interrogated

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any villains affiliated with them. I only own my characters, which are as follows: Wicca (Kali), Delusion (Dylanne), Cronos (Finn). Those are the ones in this chapter. I accept flames about **_MY STORY_**, not the topic. Thank you, dirty-witch, for bringing this problem to my attention oh-so-gracefully. 

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About forty-five minutes later, the doors to the conference room slid open. Delusion, who had been waiting outside, very bored, got to her feet. Kali emerged a moment later, hood up, concealing her face from her friend. She began to walk away the moment the doors closed, and Delusion scurried after her.

"So what happened?" the illusionist questioned. "You were sure in there a long time." Kali lowered her hood and exhaled shakily. She looked over at Delusion with an anxious expression on her face.

"I felt like they were interrogating me, Dill," she said, "like I was a…a mouse in their trap, like I had info that they were trying to get out me." Kali shuddered. "It's like they know I'm hiding something from them." Delusion frowned.

"They weren't like that with us," she said worriedly. "Maybe it's…maybe…" she stopped. "Uggh, I don't know why they'd do that. They were nice to us." Kali shook her head.

"I think Nightwing thinks I've got something to do with the whole Raven-Trigon thing. The strongest feeling I got from him was suspicion. Suspicion that I was…" Kali shuddered again. Delusion put a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"That you were what?" she wanted to know, concern chief in her voice.

"That I was…something bad," Kali whispered. "Maybe evil." Delusion hugged her friend around the shoulders.

"Well, the important thing is that _we_ know you aren't. In time, they'll see that you're an awesome person, too." Kali smiled weakly and hugged Delusion back.

"Thanks. But something else creeped me out, Dill. I've never felt Grandma so distant before. It's like she…like she's trying to see something bad in me." There was a distressed tone in the teenager's voice. "Dylanne, she doesn't trust me. You have no idea how much that hurts!"

"Well, keep in mind that she doesn't know who you are, Kali," Delusion reminded, still keeping an arm around Kali's shoulders. "I mean, _she doesn't know you_."

The last four words hit Kali like a ton of bricks, a racecar, and four semis. Even before their soul-selves had integrated, grandparent and grandchild had been close. Their bond had grown even more after the incident. Raven had been the chief comfort after Kali's parents had died. She'd taught her granddaughter control over her power. She had opened up with Kali and had shown the girl a side no one but Garfield (A/N: That's Beast Boy) had ever seen before. There had **never** been a time where Raven hadn't known or trusted Kali. Except for now.

Kali, for once, had nothing to say. She was finally realizing the magnitude of what this meant. She had lost the principal comfort in her life, and there was nothing she could do about it. Not without messing up the future very, very badly.

Over the next few days, Kali, Delusion, and Cronos stayed in Titans Tower. Neither team trusted the other completely. Because of their age and "inexperience", Nightwing wouldn't let them help with missions. So, basically, after a while, the group began to get a very bad case of cabin fever. Patience was stretched to the limit, especially for Kali. Changeling kept telling very corny jokes and hounding her to get her to tell him her name. Through clenched teeth and with a forced calm, she had told him that, if he could guess what her initials stood for, she'd tell him anything he wanted to know. Wally had been calling her 'Witch' despite her frequent requests that he did not. Nightwing and Cyborg watched her with critical eyes, as if daring her to do something they didn't approve of.

Cronos felt as if he was being treated as if he was four, and a permanent glower was plastered on his face. Wally and Changeling both called Delusion 'Penguin', which infuriated her to the point where, when you looked at her, you saw the air around her eddy and waver as her powers, normally very easily kept under control, leaked out all around her.

Troia and Kori were really the only ones who spoke to them without some degree of distaste or mistrust in their voices. Speedy, Jericho, and Raven just didn't speak.

Tempers became more and more frayed as the days wore on, and for all, snapping was imminent.

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Well, an insanely short chapter for me. It's not my best work. As you can see, I'm trying to avoid having the actual Titans speak. I'm not very good at doing their voices, as you can see in previous chapters. Oh, well. Please review. Oreos for all who do.

Peace and Oreos, Onyx


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